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Star Formation Histories of Early-Type Galaxies. I. Higher Order Balmer Lines as Age IndicatorsWe have obtained blue integrated spectra of 175 nearby early-typegalaxies, covering a wide range in galaxy velocity dispersion andemphasizing those with σ<100 km s-1. Galaxies havebeen observed both in the Virgo Cluster and in lower densityenvironments. The main goals are the evaluation of higher order Balmerlines as age indicators and differences in stellar populations as afunction of mass, environment, and morphology. In this first paper, ouremphasis is on presenting the methods used to characterize the behaviorof the Balmer lines through evolutionary population synthesis models.Lower σ galaxies exhibit a substantially greater intrinsicscatter, in a variety of line-strength indicators, than do higherσ galaxies, with the large intrinsic scatter setting in below aσ of 100 km s-1. Moreover, a greater contrast inscatter is present in the Balmer lines than in the lines of metalfeatures. Evolutionary synthesis modeling of the observed spectralindexes indicates that the strong Balmer lines found primarily among thelow-σ galaxies are caused by young age, rather than by lowmetallicity. Thus we find a trend between the population age and thecentral velocity dispersion, such that low-σ galaxies have youngerluminosity-weighted mean ages. We have repeated this analysis usingseveral different Balmer lines and find consistent results from onespectral indicator to another.

A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxiesWe have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of ``normality''. Thedefinition of a ``normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for ``normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5

Bar Galaxies and Their EnvironmentsThe prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment.

A catalogue and analysis of X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxiesWe present a catalogue of X-ray luminosities for 401 early-typegalaxies, of which 136 are based on newly analysed ROSAT PSPC pointedobservations. The remaining luminosities are taken from the literatureand converted to a common energy band, spectral model and distancescale. Using this sample we fit the LX:LB relationfor early-type galaxies and find a best-fit slope for the catalogue of~2.2. We demonstrate the influence of group-dominant galaxies on the fitand present evidence that the relation is not well modelled by a singlepower-law fit. We also derive estimates of the contribution to galaxyX-ray luminosities from discrete-sources and conclude that they provideLdscr/LB~=29.5ergs-1LBsolar-1. Wecompare this result with luminosities from our catalogue. Lastly, weexamine the influence of environment on galaxy X-ray luminosity and onthe form of the LX:LB relation. We conclude thatalthough environment undoubtedly affects the X-ray properties ofindividual galaxies, particularly those in the centres of groups andclusters, it does not change the nature of whole populations.

On the dependence of spectroscopic indices of early-type galaxies on age, metallicity and velocity dispersionWe investigate the Mg-σ and -σ relations in asample of 72 early-type galaxies drawn mostly from cluster and groupenvironments using a homogeneous data set which is well calibrated on tothe Lick/IDS system. The small intrinsic scatter in Mg at a givenσ gives upper limits on the spread in age and metallicity of 49and 32 per cent respectively, if the spread is attributed to onequantity only, and if the variations in age and metallicity areuncorrelated. The age/metallicity distribution as inferred from theHβ versus diagnostic diagram reinforces this conclusion,as we find mostly galaxies with large luminosity-weighted ages spanninga range in metallicity. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we show that thegalaxy distribution in the Hβ versus plane cannot bereproduced by a model in which galaxy age is the only parameter drivingthe index-σ relation. In our sample we do not find significantevidence for an anticorrelation of ages and metallicities which wouldkeep the index-σ relations tight while hiding a large spread inage and metallicity. As a result of correlated errors in theage-metallicity plane, a mild age-metallicity anticorrelation cannot becompletely ruled out by the current data. Correcting the line-strengthindices for non-solar abundance ratios, following the recent paper byTrager et al., leads to higher mean metallicity and slightly younger ageestimates while preserving the metallicity sequence. The [Mg/Fe] ratiois mildly correlated with the central velocity dispersion, and rangesfrom [Mg/Fe]=0.05 to 0.3 for galaxies withσ>100kms-1. Under the assumption that there is noage gradient along the index-σ relations, theabundance-ratio-corrected Mg-σ, Fe-σ and Hβ-σrelations give consistent estimates ofΔ[M/H]/Δlogσ~=0.9+/-0.1. The slope of theHβ-σ relation limits a potential age trend as a function ofσ to 2-3Gyr along the sequence.

Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of GroupsIn this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.

Models for the interpretation of CaT and the blue spectral indices in elliptical nucleiWe present a grid of theoretical models where the calculation ofabsorption line spectral indices in both the blue and red wavelengthranges is done with the same evolutionary synthesis code. We havecomputed some of these indices: CaT, Na i, Mg i in the near infrared andMgb, Mg2, Fe52, Fe53, NaD and Hβ , in the blue-visiblerange, for Single Stellar Population (SSP) of 6 different metallicities,(Z=0.0004, 0.001, 0.004, 0.008, 0.02 and 0.05), and ages from 4 Myr to20 Gyr. From the comparison of these evolutionary synthesis models witha compilation of elliptical galaxy data from the literature, we findthat the observed CaT index follows the blue index ratherthan Mg2 as the models predict. If this implies anover-abundance [Mg/Ca] and we take into account the masses of starswhich produce Mg and Ca, these stars could form in a time scale shorterthan 5 Myr from the beginning of the star formation process.Alternatively, an IMF biased towards very massive stars (M> 40Msun) at the early epoch of star formation in ellipticalnuclei has to be assumed. We also suggest to revise the calculation ofthe nucleosynthesis yield of Magnesium. By using the diagnostic diagramCaT-Hβ to disentangle age and metallicity in such populations, weobtain around solar abundances and a sequence of ages between 4 and 16Gyr for the galaxy sample. Complete set of Table~2 is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

A Test for Large-Scale Systematic Errors in Maps of Galactic ReddeningAccurate maps of Galactic reddening are important for a number ofapplications, such as mapping the peculiar velocity field in the nearbyuniverse. Of particular concern are systematic errors which vary slowlyas a function of position on the sky, as these would induce spuriousbulk flow. We have compared the reddenings of Burstein & Heiles (BH)and those of Schlegel, Finkbeiner, & Davis (SFD) to independentestimates of the reddening, for Galactic latitudes |b|>10^deg. Ourprimary source of Galactic reddening estimates comes from comparing thedifference between the observed B-V colors of early-type galaxies, andthe predicted B-V color determined from the B-V-Mg_2 relation. We havefitted a dipole to the residuals in order to look for large-scalesystematic deviations. There is marginal evidence for a dipolar residualin the comparison between the SFD maps and the observed early-typegalaxy reddenings. If this is due to an error in the SFD maps, then itcan be corrected with a small (13%) multiplicative dipole term. Weargue, however, that this difference is more likely to be due to a small(0.01 mag) systematic error in the measured B-V colors of the early-typegalaxies. This interpretation is supported by a smaller, independentdata set (globular cluster and RR Lyrae stars), which yields a resultinconsistent with the early-type galaxy residual dipole. BH reddeningsare found to have no significant systematic residuals, apart from theknown problem in the region 230^deg

Arcsecond Positions of UGC GalaxiesWe present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.

Far-Infrared Emission from E and E/S0 GalaxiesEarly-type galaxies are filled with hot X-ray-emitting gas, but thestudy of the less plentiful cold gaseous component has been morechallenging. Studies of cold material through IRAS 60 and 100 mu mobservations indicated that half of ordinary E and E/S0 galaxies weredetected above the 3 sigma level, indicating that cold gas is common,although no correlation was found between the optical and far-infraredfluxes. Most detections were near the instrumental threshold, and givenan improved understanding of detection confidence, we reconsider the 60and 100 mu m detection rate. After excluding active galactic nuclei,peculiar systems, and background contamination, only 15 nonpeculiar Eand E/S0 galaxies from the RSA catalog are detected above the 98%confidence level, about 12% of the sample. An unusually high percentageof these 15 galaxies possess cold gas (H I CO) and optical emissionlines (H alpha ), supporting the presence of gas cooler than 104 K. The60-100 mu m flux ratios imply a median dust temperature for the sampleof 30 K, with a range of 23-28 K. These detections define the upperenvelope of the optical to far-infrared relationship,F_{{fir}}~F^{0.24+/-0.08}B , showing that optically brightobjects are also brighter in the infrared, although with considerabledispersion. A luminosity correlation is present wthL_{{fir}}~L^{1.65+/-0.28}B , but the dust temperature isuncorrelated with luminosity. The dust masses inferred from thefar-infrared measurements are 1 order of magnitude greater than thosefrom extinction observations, except for the recent merger candidate NGC4125, where they are equal. We suggest that the ratio of thefar-infrared dust mass to the extinction dust mass may be an indicatorof the time since the last spiral-spiral merger. These results arecompared to the model in which most of the dust comes from stellar massloss and the heating is primarily by stellar photons. Models thatcontain large dust grains composed of amorphous carbon plus silicatescome close to reproducing the typical 60-100 mu m flux ratios, thefar-infrared luminosity, and the Lfir-LB relationship.

A catalogue of Mg_2 indices of galaxies and globular clustersWe present a catalogue of published absorption-line Mg_2 indices ofgalaxies and globular clusters. The catalogue is maintained up-to-datein the HYPERCAT database. The measurements are listed together with thereferences to the articles where the data were published. A codeddescription of the observations is provided. The catalogue gathers 3541measurements for 1491 objects (galaxies or globular clusters) from 55datasets. Compiled raw data for 1060 galaxies are zero-point correctedand transformed to a homogeneous system. Tables 1, 3, and 4 areavailable in electronic form only at the CDS, Strasbourg, via anonymousftp 130.79.128.5. Table 2 is available both in text and electronic form.

Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxiesWe present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.

An Einstein X-Ray Survey of Optically Selected Galaxies. I. DataWe present the results of a complete Einstein imaging proportionalcounter X-ray survey of optically selected galaxies from theShapley-Ames Catalog, the Uppsala General Catalogue, and the EuropeanSouthern Observatory Catalog. Well-defined optical criteria are used toselect the galaxies, and X-ray fluxes are measured at the opticallydefined positions. The result is a comprehensive list of X-ray detectionand upper limit measurements for 1018 galaxies. Of these, 827 haveeither independent distance estimates or radial velocities. Associatedoptical, redshift, and distance data have been assembled for thesegalaxies, and their distances come from a combination of directlypredicted distances and those predicted from the Faber-Burstein GreatAttractor/Virgocentric infall model. The accuracy of the X-ray fluxeshas been checked in three different ways; all are consistent with thederived X-ray fluxes being of <=0.1 dex accuracy. In particular,there is agreement with previously published X-ray fluxes for galaxiesin common with a 1991 study by Roberts et al. and a 1992 study byFabbiano et al. The data presented here will be used in further studiesto characterize the X-ray output of galaxies of various morphologicaltypes and thus to enable the determination of the major sourcescontributing to the X-ray emission from galaxies.

The Iron Discrepancy in Elliptical Galaxies after ASCAWe present estimates for the iron content of the stellar and diffusedcomponents of elliptical galaxies, as derived respectively fromintegrated optical spectra and from ASCA X-ray observations. Amacroscopic discrepancy emerges between the expected iron abundances inthe hot interstellar medium (ISM) and what is indicated by the X-rayobservations, especially when allowance is made for the current ironenrichment by Type Ia supernovae. This strong discrepancy, that in someextreme instances may be as large as a factor of ~20, calls intoquestion our current understanding of supernova enrichment and chemicalevolution of galaxies. We discuss several astrophysical implications ofthe inferred low iron abundances in the ISM, including the chemicalevolution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies, the evolution of gasflows in elliptical galaxies, and the heating of the intraclustermedium. Some of the consequences appear hard to accept, and in theattempt to avoid some of the difficulties we explore ways of hiding ordiluting iron in the ISM of ellipticals. None of these possibilitiesappears astrophysically plausible, and we alternatively raise thequestion of the reliability of iron L line diagnostic tools that arecurrently used to infer abundances from X-ray spectra. Variousthin-plasma emission models are shown to give iron abundances that maydiffer significantly, especially at low temperatures (kT

An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.

The fundamental plane of early-type galaxies: stellar populations and mass-to-light ratio.We analyse the residuals to the fundamental plane (FP) of ellipticalgalaxies as a function of stellar-population indicators; these are basedon the line-strength parameter Mg_2_ and on UBVRI broad-band colors, andare partly derived from new observations. The effect of the stellarpopulations accounts for approximately half the observed variation ofthe mass-to-light ratio responsible for the FP tilt. The residual tiltcan be explained by the contribution of two additional effects: thedependence of the rotational support, and possibly that of the spatialstructure, on the luminosity. We conclude to a constancy of thedynamical-to-stellar mass ratio. This probably extends to globularclusters as well, but the dominant factor would be here the luminositydependence of the structure rather than that of the stellar population.This result also implies a constancy of the fraction of dark matter overall the scalelength covered by stellar systems. Our compilation ofinternal stellar kinematics of galaxies is appended.

The reality of anomalous redshifts in the spectra of some QSOs and its implications.The evidence for the physical association of close pairs involvingbright QSOs with large redshifts and bright nearby galaxies with smallredshifts, is reviewed and, in Table 1, a list of the best cases isgiven. It is shown that in a series of statistical studies usingcatalogs of QSOs and catalogs of galaxies, very strong correlations ofhigh redshift radio QSOs have been found successively with (o) [a.] TheShapley Ames Catalog of the brightest galaxies. Here the correlation iswith powerful radio QSOs with S>=9Jy (0.4GHz). The result issignificant at the 7-10σ level. (o) [b.] The Bright Galaxy Catalog(z<=0.05). Here the QSO sample is dominated by radio emitting QSOs,largely identified from the 3CR, Molonglo, Parkes, and 4C radiocatalogs. (o) [c.] The galaxies in the Lick Catalog (m

A Catalog of Stellar Velocity Dispersions. II. 1994 UpdateA catalog of central velocity dispersion measurements is presented,current through 1993 September. The catalog includes 2474 measurementsof 1563 galaxies. A standard set of 86 galaxies is defined, consistingof galaxies with at least three reliable, concordant measurements. It issuggested that future studies observe some of these standard galaxies sothat different studies can be normalized to a consistent system. Allmeasurements are reduced to a normalized system using these standards.

A multiparametric analysis of the Einstein sample of early-type galaxies. 1: Luminosity and ISM parametersWe have conducted bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis ofdata measuring the luminosity and interstellar medium of the Einsteinsample of early-type galaxies (presented by Fabbiano, Kim, &Trinchieri 1992). We find a strong nonlinear correlation betweenLB and LX, with a power-law slope of 1.8 +/- 0.1,steepening to 2.0 +/- if we do not consider the Local Group dwarfgalaxies M32 and NGC 205. Considering only galaxies with logLX less than or equal to 40.5, we instead find a slope of 1.0+/- 0.2 (with or without the Local Group dwarfs). Although E and S0galaxies have consistent slopes for their LB-LXrelationships, the mean values of the distribution functions of bothLX and LX/LB for the S0 galaxies arelower than those for the E galaxies at the 2.8 sigma and 3.5 sigmalevels, respectively. We find clear evidence for a correlation betweenLX and the X-ray color C21, defined by Kim,Fabbiano, & Trinchieri (1992b), which indicates that X-rayluminosity is correlated with the spectral shape below 1 keV in thesense that low-LX systems have relatively large contributionsfrom a soft component compared with high-LX systems. We findevidence from our analysis of the 12 micron IRAS data for our samplethat our S0 sample has excess 12 micron emission compared with the Esample, scaled by their optical luminosities. This may be due toemission from dust heated in star-forming regions in S0 disks. Thisinterpretation is reinforced by the existence of a strongL12-L100 correlation for our S0 sample that is notfound for the E galaxies, and by an analysis of optical-IR colors. Wefind steep slopes for power-law relationships between radio luminosityand optical, X-ray, and far-IR (FIR) properties. This last point arguesthat the presence of an FIR-emitting interstellar medium (ISM) inearly-type galaxies is coupled to their ability to generate nonthermalradio continuum, as previously argued by, e.g., Walsh et al. (1989). Wealso find that, for a given L100, galaxies with largerLX/LB tend to be stronger nonthermal radiosources, as originally suggested by Kim & Fabbiano (1990). We notethat, while LB is most strongly correlated withL6, the total radio luminosity, both LX andLX/LB are more strongly correlated with L6CO, the core radio luminosity. These points support the argument(proposed by Fabbiano, Gioia, & Trinchieri 1989) that radio cores inearly-type galaxies are fueled by the hot ISM.

A multiparametric analysis of the Einstein sample of early-type galaxies. 2: Galaxy formation history and properties of the interstellar mediumWe have conducted bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis ofdata measuring the integrated luminosity, shape, and potential depth ofthe Einstein sample of early-type galaxies (presented by Fabbiano et al.1992). We find significant correlations between the X-ray properties andthe axial ratios (a/b) of our sample, such that the roundest systemstend to have the highest Lx and Lx/LB.The most radio-loud objects are also the roundest. We confirm theassertion of Bender et al. (1989) that galaxies with high Lxare boxy (have negative a4). Both a/b and a4 arecorrelated with LB, but not with IRAS 12 um and 100 umluminosities. There are strong correlations between Lx,Mg2, and sigmanu in the sense that those systemswith the deepest potential wells have the highest Lx andMg2. Thus the depth of the potential well appears to governboth the ability to retain an ISM at the present epoch and to retain theenriched ejecta of early star formation bursts. BothLx/LB and L6 (the 6 cm radioluminosity) show threshold effects with sigmanu exhibitingsharp increases at log sigmanu approximately = 2.2. Finally,there is clearly an interrelationship between the various stellar andstructural parameters: The scatter in the bivariate relationshipsbetween the shape parameters (a/b and a4) and the depthparameter sigmanu is a function of abundance in the sensethat, for a given a4 or a/b, the systems with the highestsigmanu also have the highest Mg2. Furthermore,for a constant sigma(sun nu), disky galaxies tend to have higherMg2 than boxy ones. Alternatively, for a given abundance,boxy ellipticals tend to be more massive than disky ellipticals. Onepossibility is that early-type galaxies of a given mass, originatingfrom mergers (boxy ellipticals), have lower abundances than 'primordial'(disky) early-type galaxies. Another is that disky inner isophotes aredue not to primordial dissipation collapse, but to either theself-gravitating inner disks of captured spirals or the dissipationalcollapse of new disk structures from the premerger ISM. The highmeasured nuclear Mg2 values would thus be due to enrichmentfrom secondary bursts of star formation triggered by the merging event.

Stellar population gradients in bright cluster galaxies at Z = 0.2Slit spectra, covering the rest frame near-ultraviolet and bluewavelength regions, are combined with moderately deep g and R images toinvestigate radial population gradients in the brightest components ofsize z = 0.2 galaxy clusters selected according to x-ray brightness. Weconclude that the brightest members of the EMSS 0440+02, and EMSS0906+11, and EMSS 1231+15 clusters have global stellar contents similarto nearby elliptical galaxies, although all three galaxies studied inEMSS 0440 contain a central blue component, suggesting that a young orintermediate-age population is also present. Our ability to investigatethe stellar content of the brightest cluster galaxies (BGCs) in theclusters EMSS 0839+29, EMSS 1455+22, and Abell 2390 is complicated byionized gas, which is detected over large portions of all the systems.The presence of significant stellar population gradients in the BCGssuggests that the material from which they formed experienceddissipation during the collapse phases, and it seems likely that thesegalaxies could not have been formed solely from the merging of gas-poorgalaxies.

Neutral hydrogen observations of elliptical galaxies. II. The IRAS sample.HI observations are reported for a total of 53 IRAS elliptical galaxies.Nearby confusing sources may be responsible for some of the 33detections. There are 24 isolated detected galaxies, which can be splitinto two groups, one having the same M_HI_/L_B_ ratio as the ellipticalgalaxies from the RSA (M_HI_/L_B_=0.030+/-0.026). A second group is morethan six times richer in HI (M_HI_/L_B_=0.206+/-0.105). The "HI-rich"galaxies have blue colors like spiral galaxies and have a tendencytowards higher average dust temperatures. The large number of ellipticalgalaxies in compact groups (in this sample) suggests that gravitationalinteractions and mergers may be an important source of interstellarmatter for elliptical galaxies.

Absorption line gradients in the blue and near-ultraviolet spectra of bright elliptical galaxies, and implications for studies of intermediate redshift objectsLong-slit spectroscopic observations covering the wavelength interval3000 to 4000 A are used to investigate the radial behavior of atomic andmolecular absorption features in the elliptical galaxies NGC 2693, NGC3348, NGC 3379, NGC 4278, NGC 4486, and NGC 5044. There is a generaltendency for metallic absorption features to weaken and continuumindices to flatten with increasing radius, in qualitative agreement withwhat is seen at visible wavelengths. All six galaxies containsignificant (i.e., at the 3 sigma level) gradients in the 4000 A break.The rate of change of the 4000 A break with radius, Delta 4000/Deltalog(r), is correlated with Delta Mg2/Delta log(r), and thegalaxy-to-galaxy scatter in Delta 4000/Delta log(r) is larger thanexpected from experimental uncertainties alone. We compare the spectralindices of the various galaxies at the radius where Mg2 = 0.28, whichcorresponds roughly to (Fe/H) = 0, and find small galaxy-to-galaxyscatter. NGC 4486 is peculiar in that it has a very steep 4000 A breakgradient has been very different from that of most other ellipticals.The data are also used to investigate aperture effects in spectroscopicobservations of intermediate redshift galaxies. It is demonstrated thatthe failure to compensate for aperture effects in galaxies out to z =0.2 can introduce an apparent redshift dependence in the strength of the4000 A break which closely follows trends previously attributed toevolution.

Neutral hydrogen observations of elliptical galaxiesDetection of HI emission from a number of E galaxies is reported. 33galaxies were searched for HI the first time. Seven of the detected Egalaxies are isolated, 9 have nearby companions, and 11 are in compactgroups and/or strongly interacting systems. Nearby confusing sources maybe responsible for some of the detections. The large number ofelliptical galaxies in groups (in this sample) suggests thatgravitational interaction and mergers might be an important source ofsupply of interstellar matter for elliptical galaxies.

Metallicity gradients in early-type galaxiesA study of medium-to-bright early-type galaxies in six bandpasses from3500 A to 2.2 microns is presented in order to quantify their colors andcolor gradients and relate these to metallicity and properties of theunderlying stellar population. The Stromgren filter system chosen makesit possible to introduce a new calibration to the Mg(2) system from thepresent narrow-band v - y indices. A comparison is presented ofnarrow-band colors centered on particular spectral features vs a colordominated by the mean temperature of the giant branch (i.e., J - K) totest the effects of light vs heavy element abundances on knowledge ofthe total system metallicity, Z, and the effects of reddening. A goodcorrelation is found between v - y and Mg(2); it provides a connectionbetween one light element metallicity indicator (v - y centers on the CNblend) and another, Mg. The color-magnitude relations for all fiveoptical and near-IR colors are shown. The strongest correlation existsfor the metallicity colors, v - y and J - K.

IRAS CPC Observations of Galaxies - Part One - Catalog and Atlas. - We present the results of far-infrared imaging observations of 258regions of 12' x9' each centered on a selected individual galaxy, aclose pair, or a compact group of galaxies mapped at 50 and 100 micronwavelength with the CPC instrument of the IRAS satellite. The CPCinstrument has a significantly better resolution than the IRAS Surveyinstrument at these wavelengths, i.e. a round beam with a FWHM of about80" at 50 microns and 95" at 100 microns, respectively, intended to bematched to the diffraction limit of the telescope at 100 microns. Themaps were made using a new algorithm to correct for gain variations,which gives better results than the one used previously for the imagesmade available on tape in 1985. Of 262 objects observed, 167 and 188were detected at 50 and 100 microns, respectively, about 85% of thegalaxies from the same sample listed as detected by the Surveyinstrument in the IRAS Point Source Catalog. For all 55 galaxiesresolved (i.e. with a FWHM major axis diameter exceeding 1.6 times thebeam FWHM and/or extended lower-level emission) by the CPC we alsopresent the averaged maps at 50 and 100 microns. These 55 objectsinclude 35 for which there are no published maps obtained with the IRASSurvey instrument. We rescaled the flux densities of the published CPCmaps using the more accurate IRAS Survey instrument data, since theabsolute flux density calibration of the CPC is only accurate to about+/-60%. We also present images of a triplet of galaxies associated witha single Survey point source, which were resolved into separate sourcesby the CPC.

General study of group membership. II - Determination of nearby groupsWe present a whole sky catalog of nearby groups of galaxies taken fromthe Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database. From the 78,000 objects in thedatabase, we extracted a sample of 6392 galaxies, complete up to thelimiting apparent magnitude B0 = 14.0. Moreover, in order to considersolely the galaxies of the local universe, all the selected galaxieshave a known recession velocity smaller than 5500 km/s. Two methods wereused in group construction: a Huchra-Geller (1982) derived percolationmethod and a Tully (1980) derived hierarchical method. Each method gaveus one catalog. These were then compared and synthesized to obtain asingle catalog containing the most reliable groups. There are 485 groupsof a least three members in the final catalog.